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Here in Maine, we use more energy per person than other New Englanders. Too much of our energy comes from dirty, unstable sources and too little comes from Maine’s wind, sun and clean biomass. Recently, Environment Maine has been working to achieve real solutions—promoting clean energy and energy efficiency —by advocating the following legislation.
Clean, renewable energy cuts pollution, costs
This legislative session, Environment Maine helped craft a bill to increase renewable energy production 10 percent by 2017. The legislation would require utilities to enter into long-term contracts with new renewable energy projects such as wind farms, tidal projects and incremental increases at existing biomass plants and hydroelectric dams. Not only will these projects help curb air and global warming pollution, but they will also help secure our energy supply, stabilize costs and keep energy expenditures in-state.
The Legislature took this issue on amidst concerns over a limited supply of natural gas, which fuels almost half of Maine’s electricity generation. The recent natural gas price increase also has people concerned. Electricity costs rose about 15 percent last spring, and are expected to rise another 20 percent this spring. Gov. Baldacci and the senate chair, house chair and the ranking minority member of the Utilities and Energy Committee all supported the legislation, which is likely to be signed into law this summer.
Energy efficiency gets a boost
Environment Maine advanced another important piece of Maine’s clean energy future—energy efficiency. Again citing pollution reductions from power plants and lowered costs for consumers, Environment Maine, as part of the Maine Global Warming Action Coalition, promoted a number of policies that will reduce energy usage.
Among the most notable policies, the bill would require that Maine: set energy efficiency standards on products for which other Northeast states have set standards, bolster funding of Efficiency Maine, recommend furnace and boiler energy standards to the federal Department of Energy, work to promote more efficient building codes in towns and cities around the state, and follow research into low-rolling resistant tires which boost a car’s efficiency by about 4 percent. These energy efficiency policies will provide savings to households and businesses on their energy bills and will cut overall demand.
Big benefits from Clean Cars Programs
According to a recent report by Environment Maine Research & Policy Center, Clean Cars Programs adopted by Maine and nine other states will cut global warming emissions by 64 million metric tons per year in 2020, an amount greater than the emissions of more than 140 nations. Put another way, by 2020 the Clean Cars Programs in our 10 states will eliminate as much carbon dioxide pollution annually as is produced by 17 coal-fired power plants supplying power to 6.3 million homes.
Maine’s progress stands in stark contrast with attempts by Bush administration agencies and Congress to block efforts to reduce global warming emissions. The backlash comes from the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration, which are working to place roadblocks in the way of these state-based clean cars programs. The National Academy of Science is expected to recommend even more obstacles to the state programs. Finally, automakers have sued Maine and other states for pursuing this program.
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